Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Today marks the Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, who was born on this day in 1900! The Scottish Aristocrat who unexpectedly became the popular wartime Queen and then the beloved Queen Mother for half a century, we have featured many of her jewels over the years and to mark the day today, we are featuring the Queen Mother’s Cartier Lily Brooch!
Crown | Greville Tiara | Oriental Circlet Tiara | Delhi Durbar Tiara | Fringe Tiara | Turquoise Parure | Lotus Flower Tiara | Strathmore Rose Tiara | Cartier Halo Tiara | Teck Crescent Tiara | Cartier Bracelet Bandeau | Cartier Lily Brooch | The Queen Mother’s Tiaras
In 1939, Cartier London created this magnificent Diamond Lily Brooch for Queen Elizabeth, which was described:
in the form of a stem of lilies, with two open flowers, claw- and pave-set with brilliants, and with six pear-shaped stones forming buds, one flower and one bud adjustable, the detachable articulated stem originally divisible into two clips.”
6 diamond drops and 197 brilliants from the Royal Collection were used to create the Brooch with Cartier supplying an additional 52 brilliants.
The Cartier Diamond Lily Brooch was all ready in time for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’s landmark Tour of Canada and the United States in May and June 1939, where Queen Elizabeth wore the Lily Brooch for a Procession and Garden Party upon arrival in Washington, D.C.
While it was not worn during the years of the Second World War, the Cartier Diamond Lily Brooch was worn quite often in the later 1940s for a series of daytime engagements and visits.
In the year of 1951, Queen Elizabeth wore the Brooch on numerous occasions, including the Royal Maundy Service, a visit to the Festival of Britain, the Danish State Visit to Britain, the Chelsea Flower Show, the Epsom Derby, the Norwegian State Visit to Britain, and Princess Elizabeth’s return to London among several others.
The Queen Mother continued to frequently wear the Cartier Diamond Lily Brooch in her widowhood, sometimes in a smaller version, but appearances began to decline after the mid-1960s, with a notable exception being at Royal Ascot in 1969, which was the Lily Brooch’s final public appearance for decades.
After the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, the Cartier Lily Brooch, like all her jewels, was inherited by the late Queen, who first wore it with the Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara and her South African Diamond Suite for a Banquet in 2010.
The Cartier Diamond Lily Brooch was also worn by the Queen for a portrait which was never officially released but was put in the program for the unveiling of the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial in 2017. With Queen Camilla debuting so many Royal Heirlooms in recent months, it is only a matter of time before the Cartier Diamond Lily Brooch makes another appearance!
Crown | Greville Tiara | Oriental Circlet Tiara | Delhi Durbar Tiara | Fringe Tiara | Turquoise Parure | Lotus Flower Tiara | Strathmore Rose Tiara | Cartier Halo Tiara | Teck Crescent Tiara | Cartier Bracelet Bandeau | Cartier Lily Brooch | The Queen Mother’s Tiaras